"The first victory we can claim is that our hearts are free of hatred. Hence we say to those who persecute us and who try to dominate us: ‘You are my brother. I do not hate you, but you are not going to dominate me by fear. I do not wish to impose my truth, nor do I wish you to impose yours on me. We are going to seek the truth together’. THIS IS THE LIBERATION WHICH WE ARE PROCLAIMING."
Oswaldo José Payá Sardiñas (2002)

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Cuban prisoner of conscience Iván Fernández Depestre beaten up and threatened with death by prison official

"Attention, I've just been informed that prisoner of conscience Iván Fernández Depestre was brutally beaten in prison..." - Yris Tamara Pérez Aguilera over twitter on October 23, 2014 at 10:43am

Iván Fernández Depestre: Prisoner of Conscience & Art Icon

Iván Fernández Depestre should not be spending one moment in prison for exercising his rights as a person.. According to Amnesty International:

Mr Depestre was charged with “dangerousness”, a pre-emptive measure
defined as the “special proclivity of a person to commit crimes” after
he was accused of “meeting with antisocial persons”. He had no access to
a lawyer during his trial and was sentenced to three years in jail on 2
August [2013].

Amnesty International recognized him as a prisoner of conscience on September 11, 2013 and the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has an image of him on display in an exhibition in Alcatraz that opened. Below you can judge for yourself what the Cuban government describes as "dangerous."

Jailed unjustly since July 30, 2013 for nonviolently participating in a public event to commemorate the anniversary
of the death of Cuban national hero Frank País in the central province of Villa Clara. In the video above are the images taken that day leading up to his arrest.

Today Iván was brutally beaten up by and recieved a death threat from the lieutenant 2nd chief in Guamajal prison in Cuba. Below (in Spanish)Yris Tamara Pérez Aguilera gives a report of what took place.